Feral Heat: Shifters Unbound Novella by Jennifer Ashley Read Free Book Online Page B

yourself into trouble.
More like,
Go on, Jace. Kick his ass!
You wanted to see me get taken down by that whole bar, did you?”
    “No.” Deni clenched her hands, as though resisting the urge to nibble the end of his finger. “Broderick just pisses me off. And you wouldn’t have been taken down by the whole bar. I saw you fight—they’d have backed off.”
    “Were you this bloodthirsty before your accident?”
    Deni hesitated, her chest rising with her breath. “I don’t know.”
    Jace put his hands on her arms, which were cold. The night was cooling, and her flesh, bared by the sarong, rose in goose bumps. “You said fighting makes you want to fight,” he said. “But we weren’t fighting in there. Not yet.”
    “But you wanted to.” Deni rested her fingers on Jace’s forearms. “I sensed that loud and clear. You were ready to rip out Broderick’s throat. I can take his crap, but you couldn’t. Are
you
always this bloodthirsty?”
    Not until today. He made himself grin. “Everyone at home thinks I’m reasonable and a peacemaker.”
Good old Jace. He’ll calm everyone down.
    “Yeah? Not sure I’d want to meet your family, then.”
    “You would. You’d like my dad, and his mate.” He rubbed her arms. “Too cold out here. Let’s get you home.”
    Deni shivered, as though realizing how lightly dressed she was. “Fine. Though I’m not sure about you sleeping on the couch. Liam might have room at his house. Or Spike might.”
    She started to turn away. Jace thought about finding space in a dark house that didn’t contain her, and something kicked him in the gut.
    Jace dragged her back to him. Deni landed against his chest, her gray eyes going wide. He felt her heart beating rapidly as he scooped her to him, slid his hand to the back of her neck, and pulled her up for a hard kiss.

Chapter Four
    Their mouths met in a frenzy. Deni clung to Jace, her breath hot on his lips, her kisses wild, hungry.
    Jace wrapped his arms around her. This woman, this delicious female, was awakening something he’d never felt before—need, primal and intense, which all Shifters possessed, but which Jace had only experienced dimly before this. Even the hormonal craziness of his Transition to adulthood hadn’t spiked the intense desire through him that kissing Deni did.
    As her strong hands pulled him down to her, Jace realized she needed him in return. Needed
him
, Jace the man, not Jace the Shifter leader’s son—she hadn’t known who he was when they’d met. Nothing in her behavior, her scent, her voice had told him she cared where he was in the food chain.
    She rose on tiptoes, running fingers through his short hair, kissing him as though she couldn’t get enough. Jace felt his frenzy reply—
need, mate, don’t let go
.
    Deni pushed away from him with a suddenness that robbed him of breath. Cold air filled in where she’d been, and Jace felt suddenly empty.
    Deni was staring up at him, her chest rising with her agitation. “Sorry. I can’t control—”
    Jace’s returning breath hurt him. “It’s not control I’m looking for.”
    “I am.”
    Because of her accident, she meant, her fear it was making her go feral. “I get that,” Jace said. He clasped her elbows. “But that’s over, Deni. You survived. I won’t let you lose it when you’re with me—I promise.”
    She shuddered. “I just wish—”
    “Wish what?” Jace drew her closer again, running his hands up her arms to cup her shoulders. “Tell me what you want.”
    “To be normal again. A year ago, I would have snatched up someone like you, taken you somewhere private, and not come out until we were done enjoying ourselves.”
    Jace grinned down at her. “Me too. With you, I mean.”
    “But now.” Deni shuddered but she didn’t pull away. “I’m afraid to let myself go.”
    “Yeah,” Jace said, his voice quieter. “Me too.” That’s why they’d sent Jace to Austin to liaise and test the Collar control problem. Jace was